About Last Night: Playing Out The String

About Last Night: Playing Out The String:

Orioles 10 - Yankees 2,

Yankees 6 – Orioles 3

By Tim Kabel

September 26, 2026

***          

The Yankees played an old-fashioned single-admission doubleheader yesterday against the Orioles. Unlike the games I remember from my youth, Boog Powell, Frank Robinson, Thurman Munson, and Lou Piniella were nowhere to be found. The reason that the Yankees played the doubleheader yesterday and will not play today and quite possibly won't play on Sunday is that the ultimate victor was, is, and always will be Mother Nature.

The nor'easter that is bearing down upon the tri-state area and Massachusetts is expected to hit at some point this weekend and to last for quite a while. Consequently, the Yankees played Saturday's game yesterday and Sunday's game is at risk of being canceled. The most important thing to say is that none of the three games against the Orioles mattered as far as the standings go. The Yankees have clinched the top Wild Card position and will host the Red Sox in a best of three-game series beginning Tuesday night.

Rather than recapping the games because that seems rather pointless, I will focus on a few impressions I had from the game. No, I don't mean impressions of the sort that Rich Little used to do.

Anthony Volpe played third base in the first game and shortstop in the second game of the doubleheader. My respect for Anthony Volpe has increased tremendously since the beginning of August. August 1st was the last time he played shortstop before being demoted to Scranton. Volpe went to Scranton and didn't sulk, pout, or protest. He worked hard and learned to play second base. Is he flawless at second base? No. Does he appear capable of playing second base regularly for the Yankees moving forward? Yes, he does. I realize that he played a few games at third base in the minor leagues. I also realize that Ryan McMahon, up until the past few days, has not done much of anything offensively this season. I don't expect that he will suddenly become Graig Nettles or George Brett headed into the playoffs. I realize that the Yankees might want to play someone else at third base, particularly against left-handed pitching. However, I don't think Volpe is the answer. That is not a knock on Volpe. However, there were concerns about the strength of his throwing arm at shortstop. That would make playing him at third base a dubious decision. Furthermore, putting him in at third base on what could potentially be the last day of the season before the playoffs is not adequate preparation. If Volpe plays third base in the playoffs and makes a blunder, it won't be his fault. It will be because he was put in a position he should not have been put into, literally and figuratively. 

Furthermore, I don't think it was a good idea to play Volpe at shortstop in the second game period if they wanted to give George Lombard a day off, they should have used Jose Caballero. That is why he is on the team. The point of bringing Lombard up in August was to transition the shortstop position to him and to take it away from Volpe. Unless there is an emergency, Volpe should not be playing shortstop. It sends mixed messages and sows the seeds of confusion. When it comes to sowing seeds of confusion, Aaron Boone is Johnny Appleseed.

In the second game, Will Warren entered the game in relief of Ryan Yarbrough and pitched 3.2 innings, allowing three hits, zero runs and striking out seven while walking none. That was an excellent performance and sets him up nicely to pitch out of the bullpen in the playoffs.

Conversely, Brent Headrick also pitched in the second game, appearing in his 81st game of the season. Since the Yankees still have game #162 to play, Headrick has appeared in more than half of the team's games. He has been showing signs of wearing down. Yesterday, he pitched one inning allowing one hit, one run, and two walks. The Orioles loaded the bases against him. There is no arguing that Headrick has been overused. He last pitched on Wednesday. Perhaps, it might have made more sense to rest him until Tuesday.  I don't think that would have caused him to be rusty. My concern is that in a crucial playoff game, perhaps Tuesday night, Headrick will not be effective. The same can be said of Tim Hill, who has also been used excessively. In the first game, David Bednar finished the game off and also looked shaky. He allowed one hit and two walks in his one inning of work. Hopefully the fact that the main relief pitchers will probably not pitch until Tuesday will be sufficient rest to have them sharp.

There was a great deal of speculation that Trent Grisham and even Giancarlo Stanton might have been activated and played in the second game of the doubleheader. That did not happen. It is unknown if it will happen if there is a game on Sunday. It is also unknown if they will be activated for the playoffs. Aaron Boone has mentioned that as a possibility. There is also a possibility that Aaron Judge could be activated for the playoffs. That seems to be the least likely scenario of the three I just mentioned. Honestly, none of them should happen.

Stanton has not played in a game since April. He took some batting practice in Scranton earlier this week and managed to hit a ball out of the park. A playoff game against the Red Sox is not batting practice in Scranton. Remember, Stanton pulled one leg muscle jogging from first base to second base in April and recently fell down running the bases during his rehabilitation work, injuring the other leg. When I was young, I saw an old Laurel and Hardy movie in which Laurel and Hardy attempted to move a piano across a rope bridge in the Swiss Alps. Naturally, they were assisted and tormented simultaneously by a gorilla. Having Stanton appear in a playoff game against the Red Sox this season has about as much chance of success as Laurel and Hardy moving that piano across the bridge. On top of that, Stanton’s performance will not be funny.

The Yankees have also hinted that Carlos Lagrange could be activated and put on the Major League roster to make his Major League debut during the playoffs against the Red Sox. That would be a very bad idea. Just about as bad as activating Judge, Stanton, or Grisham for this series. When the Yankees try to get cute in these series, it never works.

Do you remember a few years ago against the Rays when Aaron Boone decided to go with Deivi Garcia as a starter in the playoffs just so he could bring in J.A. Happ to force the Rays to switch their lineup? It was a disaster. It made the Yankees look foolish and they did not do well.

I don't have a crystal ball. I don't even have a Lucille Ball. However, I can easily envision a scenario in which the Yankees activate Stanton and Grisham to play against the Red Sox next week. If Grisham starts in those games, he will play center field over Spencer Jones. That is a mistake right there. Second, Grisham should only be a bench player if he has to be on the roster. I don't think he should be on the roster but if he absolutely has to be, he should be a bench player. The problem with that is that he wasn't hitting well before he went on the IL. To expect him to suddenly hit well now would be foolish. 

I can envision a scenario in which Aaron Boone uses Stanton to pinch hit, quite possibly for Spencer Jones. First, Spencer Jones has been hitting left-handed pitching very well this season. Second Stanton hasn't played since the Nixon administration. I know he has a history of being a tremendous playoff performer, but he is rusty and injury prone. Also, last year in the postseason, he batted less than .200.

Back to my scenario. I could see Stanton pinch hitting for Spencer Jones and then Grisham going in to replace him in the outfield and having a ball hit over his head a la Aaron Hicks, causing the Yankees to lose the game. I can also envision a situation in which Carlos Lagrange is brought up and put into a playoff game as his Major League debut and is either wild and ineffective or simply ineffective. This is not meant as a knock on Lagrange. I think he could be a major contributor for the Yankees. However, I think that should be in 2027. It would be extremely unfair to put him into a game in the playoffs this season.

Another example of the Yankees being cute is that they are contemplating starting Max Fried or Gerrit Cole in game one as opposed to Cam Schlittler. This would be another example of Aaron Boone overthinking things. Aaron Boone overthinking is like me over-jogging. It's not a very pretty picture.

The Yankees should just do the things that make the most sense. In other words, this is a best of three-game series. Do everything you can to win game one. That would mean putting Cam Schlittler out there. If he wins, then you only need to win one of the next two games. If the Yankees put someone else out there and they lose, then Schlittler and the Yankees have no margin for error.

The Yankees have a few days before the playoffs begin on Tuesday. Theoretically there will be a game on Sunday but if that is the case, Elmer Rodriguez will be the starter and hopefully Brent Headrick and other key bullpen members will not appear. More likely, Sunday's game will be rained out. My fervent hope is that the Yankees do not try to get cute and make several fancy maneuvers with the roster, lineup, and rotation in this series. If they do, they could very well be finished for the season before October really even begins.